FULLY PROGRAMMABLE

PICA is a highly capable, state of the art research platform for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles R&D.

The platform was developed from the ground up using cutting edge technologies for research, development and education in the field of aerial robotics. PICA is packed with serious processing and computing power, deploying an advanced FPGA, MCU and on-board computation module on a single platform. Interfacing the on-board high performance sensors and actuators or additional devices is a breeze with the flexibility of numerous communication options provided. From low-level control algorithm to high-level communications, they are fully programmable to  customize and tailor your autopilot.  

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PICA Autopilot Powered by ioNeurons™

PICA is currently the only UAV platform designed to take full advantage of the combination of these components, allowing them to shine where they are at there best.

• The Intel’s MAX 10 FPGA handles high speed IO from sensor and actuators stabilizing the platform at a fraction of the time of a conventional system, giving it an unprecedented response time. 
   

• FPGA frees up the ARM based MCU for higher level control tasks such as obstacle avoidance or adaptive path-planning. 
   

• ​The Intel's Edison compute module, can provide the external connectivity to the IoT and host a complete ROS development environment leveraging the know-how of an entire developer community. 

3 in 1 platform
MCU + FPGA + Compute Module are designed and optimized in a compact space . 

Compact Size with Carbon Fibre Unibody

Built-in Vibration Damping Structure

Universal Power and Communication Ports

Multi-platform， Powered by FPGA, MCU and Compute Module

Open Source System for Operation and Development

PICA Drone Specs

• Weight(Battery Excluded): 550g 
   

• Diagonal Size(Propellers Excluded): 368mm
   

• Battery:  3 or 4S LiPo
   

• Max. Thrust: 850g/motor (14.8V, Sea Level)
   

• Takeoff Weight (Recommended): 350~400 g/motor
   

• ESC Max Allowable Current (Persistent): 20A
   

• ESC Max Allowable Peak Current (3 sec): 30A
   

• Propeller Diameter/Thread Pitch : 24x12.7cm (9.4 x 5.0 inch)
   

• temperature range: 0°C to 50°C 
   

• Build-in WiFi  a/b/g/n and Bluetooth 4.0
   

• PICA-Autopilot :

  • Input Voltage Range: 6~17V DC

  • ioNeurons™ EM4: STM32F427 microcontroller

    • 168 MHz​

    • 64MB SDRAM

    • 2 MB Flash

    • 256 KB SRAM

  • ioNeurons™ FM10: Intel®  MAX 10 FPGA

    • 4MB SRAM, 16 bit​

    • 24 pins Flexible Flat Cable(FFC) connector

  • Compute Module: Intel®  Edison

  • IMU: MPU-9250

    • ​3-Axis Gryoscope

    • 3-Axis Accelerometer

    • 3-Axis magnetometer

  • Barometric Pressure Sensor: MS5611
    High resolution module, 10cm

  • RGB LED x1 with programmable driver

    • Red (560~1120 mcd)​

    • Green(1120-2240 mcd)

    • Blue(280-560 mcd)
       

• Camera: ioNeurons™ C5M (optional)

  • 5M pixels​ CMOS， 2592x1944

    • 1080p: 30fps

    • VGA(640x480): 90fps

    • QVGA(320x240):120fps

  • Integrated IMU: MPU-9250

  • Integrated Time of Flight(TOF)
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Interfaces

• 2x CAN
   

• 2x I2C
   

• 3x UART

  • 2 GH connectors

  • 1 USB micro-AB connector​
     

• 1x SPI
   

• 2x ADC (3.3V)
   

• 2x microcontroller's GPIOs
   

• 20x FPGA high speed GPIOs
   

• S.BUS compatible input
   

• 6x PWM
   

• 3.3v DC output
   

• 5.0v DC output
   

• 2x battery voltage output
   

• JTAG
   

• Micro SD card reader
   

• 2x USB OTG with micro-AB connector

PICA-IO